Change of Heart
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: [FINISHED] Bakura and Ryou learn about love, pain, and cheating under unusual circumstances... though especially about love!
1. Change of Heart

**Disclaimer**: Yu-gi-oh non mea, viditis? Non mea! Minime sue! [grin]

**A/N**: Y'know, if I didn't have to repost it, I might never have reread this thing.........[sweatdrop]......... I AM FOREVER SHAMED! Hmm... [sweatdrop]... Okay, yeah, I really am forever shamed. Sigh. But it gets better, honest it does! Around chapter three or four, something like that, y'know, I'm sure you've heard this all before so you know the drill... Hey, it's not my fault; it was only the second fic I ever wrote! (Then who's fault...?) (Shut up, stupid inner voice!) And for the first chapter or two I didn't even have a clue where I was going with it! And I think even my first fic was better than this crap!!! .........LOL, I wonder if I've scared everyone off yet? I get the feeling the only people left are those of you who now want to read it just out of morbid curiosity. But oh well; even if that's the only reason you're reading, enjoy!

/Bubblebunny/ Ryou (through link)

{Bubblebunny} Bakura (through link)

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**Chapter One**: Change of Heart

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"No; stop... please," Ryou half-sobbed.

Bakura snarled angrily. "You're such a weakling," he accused, kicking him one last time. "Fine; you're starting to annoy me. I'm going to get something to eat."

Ryou lay on the floor still curled up in a ball, crying quietly. It was so unfair... Why did his yami hate him so much? The part that truly frightened him, though, was that he just couldn't return the feeling. There was something about him... Even though he insulted him and hurt him... Abused him physically and mentally...

Slowly, an idea formed in his mind. He had thought about it many times before, and it still terrified him. But laying there, he finally realized that it was the only thing he could do now. He had long since admitted to himself that he had feelings for his yami, but he was well aware of the fact that the feelings would never be returned. It seemed so twisted, but he just couldn't help it.

Slowly, he got up, and went to the bathroom. He turned on the water so Bakura would think he was cleaning himself up...

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Bakura rolled his eyes, listening to the sink upstairs as he dug around in the fridge. "Big baby," he muttered to himself. "I barely touched him..."

Suddenly, like a sharp jolt, he sensed danger. He stood up so fast that he hit his head on the fridge, and groaned. He quickly returned his senses to that feeling, however... He frowned.

'What the hell?' he wondered. 'I would have heard if someone else had come inside; it's just me and Ryou...'

His frown deepened. Hardly thinking about what he was doing, he went upstairs and stood outside the bathroom. He opened his mouth to say something, but he hesitated. 'Hold on...' he thought angrily. 'What do I care about that idiot?'

"Go away, Bakura," Ryou said dully, startling the yami. "I know you're out there..."

"Excuse me?" Bakura said, irritated. "Last I checked, _you_ don't order _me_ around."

There was a moment of silence. "Go away," Ryou said again, this time sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"What are you doing in there?" Bakura demanded. "Trying to dry up a spring? I know you're not just cleaning up."

"Damn you!" Ryou shouted, shocking Bakura so much that he took an involuntary step back. Ryou never swore... "Why won't you just leave me alone?!"

Bakura gritted his teeth, trying to telling himself that he was pissed as he tried the doorknob. It was locked. 'Pathetic,' he thought. The millennium ring glowed, and a moment later the knob turned freely. 'What the fuck am I doing...?' he wondered as he opened it. The thought abruptly disappeared, however, when he saw Ryou.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" he shouted. Ryou, startled, dropped the razor he had been holding next to his wrist. It fell to the floor with a clatter, and Bakura lunged for it.

Ryou took a step back, scared now that Bakura was there. The seething yami threw the razor into the hall, then turned to glare at his hikari. "Well?!" he demanded. "What did you think you were doing?!"

"What did it look like?" Ryou said quietly, staring at the floor. 'Why can't you just pick one?' he thought bitterly. 'Let me live, or let me die...'

{I heard that} Bakura said through their link.

"Well, why can't you then?!" he burst out, glaring boldly back at the other boy.

To his surprise, Bakura looked away, absentmindedly turning off the sink. "I don't know," he finally said.

"What?" Ryou demanded, not sure whether to believe what he was hearing.

"Ryou, I..." Bakura's voice trailed off, then without warning he stepped out of the bathroom. "Never mind," he said dismissively. "Just promise me..." He paused, picking up the razor again. "Promise me that you'll never, _never_ try something like that again."

Ryou gaped at him. "Why do you care?" he said finally.

"Ryou," Bakura said testily.

"Fine, fine," he said hurriedly. "I promise."

"Thank you," he said, leaving Ryou to stare after him in shock.

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Bakura lounged in one of the kitchen chairs, eating potato chips and glaring moodily at nothing. He had become very attached indeed to modern-day food, but at the moment he barely noticed what he was eating.

'What the hell was that?' he wondered. 'Why did it... upset... me so much to see him trying to kill himself?'

'You know perfectly well,' a rebellious little voice in the back of his mind said.

He ignored it. 'There's no sane reason to care what that fool does,' he told himself firmly. 'No reason whatsoever. The only thing I can't let him do is die, and _only_ because I'm not sure what exactly will happen to me, being his yami.'

He frowned suddenly, hearing someone behind him. 'Ryou,' he thought a second before his hikari said, "Bakura."

"What?" he asked evenly, not turning around.

"Why..." Ryou faltered, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer. But he knew that if he didn't ask, it would plague him until he did. "Why... Did you care? Even though you... hurt me... so much yourself?" He swallowed, wondering if Bakura would be angry.

Bakura hesitated, two sides fighting within him. One wanted to tell him what he had just told himself a moment ago, and the other side wanted to tell him the truth... "Why do you want to know?" he asked finally.

Ryou was shocked. He had suspected his yami to snap at him, or even hit him. 'I was right,' he thought, awed. 'He's been changing lately, somehow, a little...' "Because, um..." He struggled with the question, not really having a clue what to say. "Well, I... It's just, you seem... different... I mean, you seemed really..."

Bakura rolled his eyes, turning in his chair to face the other boy. "Get to the point," he said blandly, his face betraying nothing.

"Well, um..." He swallowed. Depending on what Bakura said next, he might just wind up breaking his promise, but it would be so wonderful if... "I love you, Bakura," he blurted, going pale.

Bakura's mouth fell open, and he quickly turned around again. "That's not possible," he stated. "You almost killed yourself over me."

"Yes," Ryou whispered. "Because I thought... knew... You could never love me back." He turned and fled.

Bakura's mind was about as confused as it could get. 'He loves me?' seemed to rise above everything else, and he was shocked at how _happy_ it made him... 'Impossible!' he tried to tell himself. 'There is no way I could love that weakling!' But it didn't work.

Suddenly, he had a very frightening thought. 'If he almost killed himself before, when he just _thought_ that I didn't love him... Damn it; I just basically said I didn't... Not that I'm saying I _do_ or anything..." He jumped out of the chair and took the stairs two at a time to get to Ryou's bedroom. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked again. 'Curse him; doesn't he ever learn...?' he thought angrily, and started to work on it.

The door opened before he was finished. "You just couldn't leave me be, could you?" Ryou asked resentfully, then automatically flinched away.

In that instant, Bakura saw his hikari in a completely new way. He was so beautiful; he looked almost like an angel. Despite everything Bakura had done to him – in an unconscious effort, he realized, to put as much distance between them as he could – he still had an air of hope about him, and despite everything, he still had pride... In that instant, everything changed.

Bakura hugged him, scaring Ryou out of his wits. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"F-for what?" Ryou stammered. Bakura heard him thinking, 'I _thought_ my yami was crazy before, but now I've seen _everything_!' but he didn't comment.

"For..." Bakura sighed, and Ryou could tell this was hard for him to say. "For... Hurting you... And... For being so cold, a minute ago."

Ryou gaped, too stunned to say anything for a moment as Bakura pulled away. He almost didn't want to speak, for fear that a noise might snap Bakura out of whatever had come over him. But finally he risked a tentative, "So, um... Why are you apologizing, exactly?"

Bakura stared at his feet, too uncomfortable to look Ryou in the eye. 'Damn; I always called him weak, but I have to admire him for managing to say... that he loved me... at all...'

Finally, he whispered, "I...ug... mutter-ve you too, Ryou."

To his shock, Ryou burst out laughing. "What?" he snapped, at the same time realizing that he'd hardly ever heard Ryou laugh before, and never when he knew that his yami was present.

"Sorry, sorry," Ryou said hurriedly, backing away and stifling his laughter.

Bakura's expression softened. "No, it's okay," he said, wrinkling his nose a little at how strange the words sounded. "But really; what?"

Ryou started laughing all over again at Bakura's face. "Well, it's just..." he gasped, "It's just that I've never seen you... go red!"

Bakura felt himself slowly starting to grin, and pretty soon he was laughing along with his light.

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**A/N**: [groan] I told you it was bad... I warned you... but did you listen? [bursts in to tears] Horrible! Why am I even posting this?! [composes self] Yay, I feel better now... After reading that crap I don't know if any of ya'll would even be able to believe me, but the stuff I write these days is way better! Go read some of it! Um, please? Oh, but not before you R&R! [grin] Ah, shameless plugging...


	2. Various Tensions

**Disclaimer**: Yu-gi-oh non mea, viditis? Non mea! Minime capitis pecunia mea! [grin]

**To the reviewers!**

Yami-darkmagic: I shall try to read your ficcies sometime; sorry I haven't yet; I'm just busy. But soon!

zombie zit: LOL, that is a great name XD Sorry I haven't e-mailed you yet; the same excuse I gave Yami-darkmagic holds true T.T But I'll try to drop you a line as soon as I can, okies?

Dark-Angel302: Aw, your favorite list? [blush] I feel loved!

To everybody else: Sorry I'm too lazy to thank you individually, but thank you anyway! Ya'll are all so sweet; [sniff] I can't believe I've gotten so many reviews on this thing already... [hands cookies to all reviewers]

**A/N**: Mwuhahahaha! I scared ya, didn't I? Bet I did! Bet you never expected to see anything new on this fic... Sorry it took so long to update; I have no excuse besides laziness! Well, that and a few new mangas to read... eh heh... [sigh] Oi, my poor head... Okay, I just thought I should warn you, for most of this chapter I was writing entirely on impulse. Apparently I just sat there and stared at the computer screen until an idea popped in to my feeble brain, at which I wrote it down then seriously considered erasing it because it was pointless... Which resulted in seven pages composed entirely of mindless fluff [nervous grin] But mindless fluff is good, right? Right? [sweatdrop] But don't worry; it will develop some kind of substance sooner or later! [multiple sweatdrops] Enjoy...

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**Chapter Two**: Various Tensions

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"Hmm..." Ryou muttered sleepily, his eyes fluttering open. He met a mirror reflection of his own face, perhaps a foot away.

His immediate reaction was to scream and jump in the air. Not a very good idea.

"S-sorry," he said sheepishly, clutching his head. "Um... Are you okay?"

"... Ow..." Bakura groaned, now lying in the opposite direction of Ryou. "My nose... What in the world _did_ I hit? Your head, or a brick wall?"

"S-sorry..." he repeated weakly. "Um... It feels like it was my head..."

Bakura laughed a little, and sat up. "You're a klutz; do you realize that?" he asked seriously.

"... Yeah..." he admitted.

"Anyway," his yami continued, "I just thought I'd wake you up; you threw the alarm at the wall... Again..." He gestured to the bits of electronic parts scattered across the floor at the other end of the room.

Ryou stared at them dismally. "Again?" he repeated, sighing.

"Yes," Bakura said, shaking his head and getting off the bed. He went over to the Sennen ring that was lying on the nightstand, but paused just before going back in. "And, hey..." He paused. "I meant that klutz thing... As a friend. It's... cute." He seemed to re-enter it rather hurriedly.

Ryou sat up and stared at the ring in amazement for a few minutes before getting out of bed. He really didn't have a clue what happened last night, but his yami was so... different. Usually when he threw the alarm clock at the wall and there was no one else there to wake him up (like now; his dad was gone on a dig), Bakura would let him sleep in then laugh in his face when he realized the he was late for school. And he had certainly never called anything Ryou did kawaii... _And_, under normal circumstances, Bakura probably would have kicked him in the face for bumping him like that...

Ryou felt rather bemused as he went about getting ready to go to school, but he was smiling.

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When he got to school, he greeted everyone cheerfully, as usual. Honda and Jou got into a serious debate before class about which was less healthy, the so-called 'Mystery Meat' dish that was offered daily at the school's cafeteria, or the Friday special, and Yugi and Anzu were talking about who knows what. Yami, however, came up to talk to Ryou.

"So," he said quietly, "I know your dad's been gone over the weekend... Has everything been alright with your yami?"

Ryou looked thoughtfully at him for a moment. Everyone knew that he and his yami didn't get along well, but no one knew that he was abusive. But... Ryou got the impression sometimes that Yami suspected it. "Yeah, it's fine," he said, smiling reassuringly. "We got into a little... argument... But he apologized."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a first," he said, shaking his head. He had to go over to his seat when the teacher came in, but he still looked curious (A/N: Everyone outside the group thinks he and Yugi are brothers). Ryou heaved a sigh of relief; he might have managed to tell Bakura about his feelings, but there was no way he was telling anyone else for as long as he could put it off...

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When Ryou got home, no sooner had he gotten up to his room then he felt his yami trying to get out. His first instinct was to resist, but he hurriedly stopped and let him come. Bakura appeared, sitting in the middle of the bed.

"Um, hey," Ryou said, just a little uncomfortable. "Oh, thanks for waking me up this morning; I never got a chance to thank you then." He fell silent, not really knowing what else to say.

"It was nothing," Bakura said, studying his light's face. Suddenly he got up and went over to him, standing so close that Ryou could almost feel the heat coming off him. "You're still afraid of me, aren't you?" Bakura asked quietly.

It was true, Ryou had to admit. Despite the fact that they – somehow – seemed to be on good terms now, it took all his effort not to shrink away. "Yes," he confessed.

Bakura half turned away. "Look, Ryou..." he started, and ran a hand through his hair in aggravation. "I... really am sorry about everything. I didn't... Well, what I mean is... Ra; I sound like you..." He chuckled a little, then sighed. "Alright, let me try to put this a different way. I swear... And I might have been a tomb robber but my word still means something... I swear, I will never, ever hurt you again. I swear." When he looked back at his light, he had an expression that Ryou almost couldn't place, because he had never looked like that before. It was hope, and... just maybe... caring.

They stood there for a minute, not saying anything, when suddenly Ryou realized that Bakura was leaning towards him. 'Is he going to kiss me?' he wondered, dazed. 'Oh my...' That was the last thing he thought before their lips touched... and all his thoughts disappeared as Bakura's tongue probed his mouth.

Finally, they broke apart. Ryou gasped for breath. "Was that fun?" Bakura asked, chuckling again as Ryou turned a very bright red. He nodded, however; just a little. "I'm glad you think so," he commented, burying his face in the other boy's hair. Ryou gasped again when he felt Bakura lightly kissing his neck... Then the yami pulled away.

"I... Guess I should go," Bakura said, suddenly sounding uncomfortable.

"No; you can stay," Ryou urged.

"No, really..." He abruptly turned toward the ring, saying right as he left, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryou sighed, but he wasn't really that irritated. It was impossible to be when he felt like he was walking on air. It was obviously going to take his yami some time to adjust to this; heck, it would take anyone some time when it was all happening so suddenly... But it was everything he had dreamed of.

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Inside his soul room in the ring, Bakura sighed too. And he wasn't irritated either; actually, he was depressed. Even though he had only realized it last night, he knew without a doubt that he truly did love his hikari. And he wanted to be with him so badly... But he was frightened. Frightened of what he might do if they got too close, if something happened that angered him. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Ryou. He was almost scared to go near him.

'But just keeping away won't help,' he thought unhappily. That would just hurt both of them. Perhaps, if he was just around Ryou enough, he would learn to control himself. Perhaps Ryou could teach him to be a new person.

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The next day was Saturday, and when Ryou woke up around ten he lay in bed for a few minutes morning the fact that he had never really tried to call his yami out like Yugi could do, and didn't know how to go about it. He had a strong urge to see Bakura, to talk to him... But finally he decided against it, because even if a miracle occurred and he got it to work he wasn't quite sure how it would look.

It wasn't until noon that Bakura came out by himself. He would never admit it, of course, but it had taken him that long to get up the courage. He still wasn't quite sure that he trusted himself, but finally he decided to give it a try.

It was worth it. The moment he saw him, Ryou smiled. "Hello!" he said, trying not to sound as cheerful as he felt for fear of seeming weird.

"Hi," Bakura muttered, hugging him. "Did I miss anything good?"

"No, yami," Ryou assured him, looking up at him with chocolate-brown eyes.

Bakura kissed him deeply, vaguely noting that he had never realized Ryou had such beautiful eyes. He had no idea how long the kiss went on as he explored all the crevices of the other's mouth, enjoying the taste of it.

Eventually they broke away from each other, needing air. "Hey, is there anything to eat?" Bakura asked suddenly.

Ryou snickered. "Well, there's some fermented zucchini..." he said, mock-seriously.

"Zucchini?" Bakura said suspiciously. "Is it some sort of cheese?"

Ryou burst out laughing. "No," he said, shuddering. "It's dreadful, and it's not supposed to be fermented either. I believe dad bought it sometime well before he left, and I'm not quite sure what he meant to do with it. There are hot dogs, though."

They stood in the kitchen, Bakura with his arm wrapped around Ryou's waist while they waited for the hot dogs to cook. "How did this happen?" Ryou asked, half to himself.

Bakura laughed. "I don't know."

"But are you happy?" he asked, looking up at him again.

"Yes..." For a moment he almost came out and told Ryou about his fears, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. The other boy looked so content, and somehow he just couldn't get up the energy to be worried about it. Instead he kissed him lightly on the forehead, then they both jumped as the microwave beeped.

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Another week passed pleasantly. For Ryou it was bliss. Bakura sometimes found himself wishing they could do something more than kissing and so on, but he decided it would be best to wait. Because it wasn't as if he wasn't perfectly happy as it was. As the time passed, he began to become less afraid of himself as well.

The next Saturday they watched a movie, then went up to Ryou's room for a little while. Ryou lay curled up in his yami's arms on the bed, drifting in and out of sleep.

Suddenly Bakura frowned. He could have sworn he heard something out there... But if there was something it was being awfully quiet.

He was just about to put it off as his imagination, when the door was flung open by Ryou's father. "Hi, Ryou! I'm ho..." The man's voice trailed off, and he stared wide-eye at the two of them.

"R-ryou!" Bakura managed to get out, he voice rather high-pitched (for him at least). "I think... you should wake up."

"Hmm...?" Ryou's eyes opened slightly, then flew open the rest of the way when he say his father. "Dad!" he said cheerfully, and started to sit up... Then he noticed Bakura's arm. "Oh... my..."

"Yeah," Bakura agreed.

"What...?" Ryou's father started, dazed.

"Um... heh..." Ryou got out of bed rather hurriedly, and grabbed Bakura's wrist. "Um, hi dad! Listen, um, we need to have a little talk, but I'll be right back. You... stay right there." He hastily dragged Bakura out of bed and out of the room after him, past his very confused dad.

"Bakura," Ryou said worriedly, once they got down to the living room, "what should we tell him?"

Bakura shrugged. "I don't know, really," he replied. "I'm no expert on your dad, you know. I have no idea how hard it would be to get him to believe the truth, but I can't really come up with anything else we could say. I mean, he found us in bed together. And besides all that, we do look almost exactly alike. It seems to me that that part would be even harder to explain."

"I know," Ryou said distractedly. "Maybe if we show him how you can go into the Sennen ring he'll believe us... But I really don't know what he's going to do..."

"Shhh; shhh," he said soothingly, hugging Ryou. "Don't go panicking; I can't handle this by myself you know." Ryou snickered.

"The Sennen ring?" Ryou's dad asked from the doorway. "You mean that necklace? What's that got to do with all this?"

Ryou gasped, pulling away from Bakura. "Dad!" he yelped. "Um... I thought I asked you to stay upstairs for a minute!"

His dad shrugged. "I know; sorry. But I really wanted to know what all this is about. Now, I really think you two ought to explain yourselves. For starters, exactly how long have you been a couple?"

Ryou blushed. "Uh... Only a little over a week..." He looked up from his feet, at which he had been staring guiltily. "You don't think it's... Well... Disgusting... Do you?"

His dad snorted. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "I must say, it'll take some getting used to. But really the thing that strikes me as the most odd is that you seem to be in love... With a near-perfect image of yourself. I don't suppose he's some distant cousin, is he?"

"Near-perfect image?" Bakura put in, pretending to be shocked. "I'm not that short, am I?" He smirked; it seemed to break the tension quite well.

After that they spent a while talking, Ryou and Bakura explaining things at intervals. When they got to the part about Bakura actually being the spirit of a tomb robber from ancient Egypt whose soul was tied to the Sennen ring Ryou's dad looked at them like they were crazy... Until Bakura went back into the ring, returning a few moments late. Ryou's dad had him do it several more times, then got up and wandered off to the kitchen, muttering something about aspirin.

Ryou looked after him, slightly concerned. "Do you think he'll be alright?" Bakura inquired. "He seemed... Disturbed."

Ryou grinned a little at the way he phrased it. "Yeah, he should be fine; just give him a little bit."

"Boys!" his dad suddenly called.

"Yes?" Ryou replied.

"Nothing too mature, you understand?" he said, and they could both hear him laughing.

"Dad!" Ryou groaned, turning slightly pink.

"Oh, is that disappointment I hear?" Bakura inquired mischievously.

Ryou just groaned again, turning even redder.

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**A/N**: [re-reading original author's note] Ah, apparently this was about where I first began discovering the evils of writing yaoi... For instance, you have to call the characters by their names, because if you use 'he' then people won't know which one you're talking about, and it get dreadfully repetitive. [sweatdrop] Hey, it's true! Also, an official announcement: chapter four is where this piece of crap develops a plot! [throws confetti] Yes, I actually finally bothered to read ahead in my stuff; it was sooooo hard... But more importantly, next chapter contains a lemon -.- It was the first lemon I ever wrote, so it's crap. You people reading this on fanfiction net are _lucky_ that I'll be editing it out for your version. But don't worry; if you find yourself possessed by a sudden bout of insanity and think you actually want to read the horrid thing, I'll stick a link to the unedited version on MediaMiner in the author's note [nervous grin] But I wouldn't read it if I were you. Honest. Urm, R&R onegai??? [puppy eyes]


	3. Birthday Present

**Disclaimer**: Yu-gi-oh non mea, viditis? Non mea! Minime capitis pecunia mea! grin

**A/N**: (sigh) Pwee, I'm so lazy! (sweatdrop) Okay, so it's not really that late, compared to some fics, at least I think it isn't, but... (deflates) I'm tired. I don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with staying up 'til eleven at night watching the Mummy? We need to buy the second movie, even though I didn't think it was as good... But sequels never are... (nervous grin) That's just great, coming from a girl with several sequels in the works, ne? ARGH! I've gone completely off the subject again! I told you I was tired. Hmm... Well, the lemon isn't as bad as I though it was. I still think it's kind of boring though. Or maybe it's just because I'm a sleep-deprived zombie whose entire existence depends on sugar. Either way, I hope you peoples don't think it's crap. **To those of you at fanfiction net**: for the actual lemon that I'm ranting about, go to my profile for a link (this freakish site wouldn't let me put it in here, for some strange reason...). If I ever get booted again I don't think I'll be back, because reposting is a pain in the butt, so, yeah... Shutting up now!!

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**Chapter Three**: Birthday Present

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Ryou woke up slowly, enjoying the luxury of being able to sleep in. Finally he stretched, and opened his eyes.

"Hey you," Bakura said, leaning down to kiss him.

"How long were you watching me?" Ryou asked sleepily, when they finally broke apart.

"You're really beautiful when you sleep," he muttered into Ryou's neck.

"... That long?"

"Yeah." Bakura moved slightly to sit down on the edge of the bed. "Anyway, I just thought I'd come wish you happy birthday."

"Oh yeah!" Ryou said, his eyes widening. "I forgot!"

"You know," Bakura said, shaking his head to hide a grin, "you might be getting a job someday soon, since you're sixteen now. I really do pity whoever hires you..." Ryou whacked him lightly on the back.

"Anyway," he continued, laughing a little, "I shouldn't stay long. Your dad will probably want spend some time with you, and you said you were having that party with your friends in the afternoon. But I'll come back this evening." They kissed again, and Bakura returned to the ring.

Ryou sighed contentedly, snuggling deeper under the blankets. It was amazing, he mused, that the same person who had made him want to die was now the main reason he wanted to live. They had only been together for a few short months now, but it seemed like all his life. Perhaps it was.

He eventually got up, and he and his father had a small celebration of their own before the one he would be having with his friends later. His father gave him two presents, one of which was a small trinket he had picked up in Egypt. It was a little statue of a beautiful woman, who he explained was Hathor, goddess of joy and love (this made Ryou blush). The other present, however, was fifty dollars and a drive to the mall. On the way there, he also promised to take him to see about getting a driver's license sometime soon.

When he got home there were still hours of sunlight left outside yet, but inside the house it was dim. He naturally reached for the light switch, and what he saw almost gave him a heart attack. Finding the house already decorated and having six people jump out at you shouting 'Happy birthday!' can do that to a person.

The party was awesome. Apparently it had been Yugi's idea to surprise him, and he had gotten Jou, Honda, Mai, Anzu and Yami to help him with it. Everybody brought tons of gifts, and Mai provide some music... With Jou providing the entertainment, of course. At one point Anzu sarcastically dared him to shove a whole piece of cake into his face, and he was more than happy to do so.

After the food, they got down to some really partying. Mai turned the music up so loud that Ryou's dad announced that he was going out for a bit and fled. It was hours before everyone finally left, and they probably would have stayed longer if Ryou's dad hadn't come back and shooed them all out around eleven.

He went back up to his room and changed into p.j.s, vaguely wondering when Bakura intended to show up. When he turned around, he abruptly stopped wondering.

"Bakura!" he exclaimed, going a most amazing shade of red. "How long were you... watching?"

"You really are beautiful," he said quietly.

"That long?" he groaned, going even darker.

"Yeah," Bakura agreed, going over and kissing him deeply. "So," he continued after they separate, "how was the party?"

He grinned a little. "It was nice," he said. "I hope you'll be able to come next year..."

"I'd like that," he agreed. "Tell me about it."

They wound up lying in bed somewhere during the long list of things that happened during the day. A little while later, Bakura sensed Ryou falling asleep and started to get up. "I guess I should be going," he half whispered.

Ryou rolled over, giving his yami that puppy face he found so irresistible. "But I was comfortable," he complained.

Bakura paused. "Well, I guess I could stay a little longer," he smiled, lying back down.

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence, while Bakura absentmindedly played with his hikari's hair. Suddenly he frowned. "You know, I never did get you anything for a present," he commented.

He shrugged. "I wasn't exactly expecting anything, you know," he replied. "You don't have any money, after all."

"But I feel bad about it," Bakura insisted.

"Really, you shouldn't..." His voice trailed off as Bakura slid his hand up Ryou's shirt and lightly teased one of his nipples, making him gasp.

"You sure you don't want anything?" he purred in the other's ear.

"Mmmmm..." Ryou replied.

Bakura rolled over so he was on top of Ryou, finding the other nipple while kissing him deeply. He trailed kisses down his neck, and started taking off his hikari's shirt. Then he paused. "Hey," he said quietly, "just tell me to stop, and I promise I will."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ryou managed to say, helping Bakura with his own shirt. The idea of what they might do was a little frightening, but it was exciting too.

Bakura took one of his hikari's nipples in his mouth, biting down just hard enough to make him gasp. After a few moments he moved to the other one, letting his hand trail lazily down towards Ryou's pants. He smirked slightly when he got there; they were already too tight for him to slip his hand in. He undid the button instead, and pulled down the zipper. Just before taking them off, however, he looked up at Ryou.

The other boy didn't show any signs of wanting him to stop, but he was bright red, his eyes were shut, and he was hanging on to the covers around his head very tightly. Bakura frowned a little and kissed his cheek lightly, causing his eyes to flutter open.

"You don't need to be so embarrassed, you know," he whispered. "There's no one else in here; it's okay. And besides, it's not as if you have anything to be ashamed of. From what I've seen so far you have a _very_ attractive body..."

Ryou managed a weak grin and loosened his grip on the sheets, though the last remark didn't exactly help his blush. "Me, embarrassed? Get on with it already..."

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Silence wrapped around them like a comforting embrace, the only sound breaking it being the occasional distant car passing by the house. "Aishiteru," Ryou said suddenly.

Bakura smirked. "Of course you do, after that," he teased. Ryou elbowed him sleepily in the ribs, and he rolled off of his koi. "Aishiteru you too," he whispered, as they both fell asleep.

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**A/N**: (gags) Hmm, sorry about the fanfiction net version being such crap... I have a new watch. It's black, and huge, with lots of little shiny pretty buckles all over. And now I'm going to take a nap. R&R onegai, anyone? Reviews are my lifeblood, seriously. ZZZzzzzz...


	4. Questions of Loyalty

**Disclaimer**: Yu-gi-oh non mea, viditis? Non mea! Minime capitis pecunia mea! (grin)

**A/N**: Argh... Yes, okay, I know it's been eons since I posted T.T But I'm going to make it up to you! I'm going to post the whole rest of this story in one go! Probably what I should have done in the first place... (sweatdrop)... Well, I'm afraid that this is the chapter when everything suddenly becomes extremely crappy! And no, I don't mean my utter lack of style, either. Poor ickle Ryou, I'm so mean to him... (evil grin)

/.../ Yugi through link

(...) Yami through link

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**Chapter Four**: Questions of Loyalty

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Perhaps the thing that started it all off was their decision, the weekend after Ryou's birthday, to go to the mall. Ryou and Bakura had long since realized that they could simply pass as brothers if they wanted to go out, and now they finally decided to give it a try (though Bakura didn't have any money, Ryou promised to get him something).

They were already on their way out with all the stuff they bought, when Ryou went around a corner and bumped into one of the people that he wanted to see least of all at the moment: Yugi Mouto.

He gasped and tried to push Bakura back around the corner but it was too late; Yugi had seen. The two of them were staring at each other, dumbfounded.

"What is HE doing here?" Yugi finally demanded, looking shocked.

"Well, I... Um, you see... Uh..." Ryou's voice trailed off hopelessly.

"You want me to tell him?" Bakura inquired. Ryou nodded gratefully. "Well, you see, Ryou and I; we're..." Bakura hesitated a moment then decided to just spit it out. "Together."

"Together?" Yugi asked blankly. Then his eyes widened in realization, and for a moment he couldn't say anything. "You... Two are... But that's... Impossible!" he managed to sputter.

And of course, things had to get worse (A/N: Of course; I'm writing it!). Any reply the couple might have had had to wait, because at that moment Jou, Honda, Yami and Anzu pushed through the crowd. "Hey; there you are Yug'," Jou said. "We've been look all ov... GAH! Yami Bakura!"

"Really? Where?" Bakura asked sarcastically. Ryou elbowed him.

"W-what are you doing here?" Anzu asked fearfully.

"A very good question indeed," Yami said pointedly. Honda just stared.

Bakura sighed. "Typical. I would have to say this twice. We're a couple, okay?"

Everyone stared.

"R-ryou!" Jou choked. "You're gay?!"

"Yeah! That's... I dunno..." Honda finally said, still shocked.

Bakura rolled his eyes, as if to say 'duh.'

"Hey!" Anzu snapped. "Stop it, you two! He should be allowed to be with anyone he wants, and I think you should just be happy for him because he's in love!"

"Ye-yes ma'am," Jou said hurriedly. Bakura rolled his eyes again and Ryou winced, wishing she'd keep it down a little.

"I don't know," Yugi said suddenly, shaking his head skeptically. "I mean, really Ryou..."

"What?" Anzu demanded, looking really dangerous just now. "You got a problem too?"

"N-no!" he said quickly, back away a little. /She scares me, Yami.../

(Well, she can get that way sometimes, yes...)

"Well, what then?" she asked, practically fuming.

"Well, it's just..." He glanced uneasily at Bakura, and took a step towards his yami just in case. "It's just... Yami Bakura's kinda... well... notreallyallthatnice!" He looked petrified.

"I agree with Yugi," Yami said, nodding.

"How polite we all are," Bakura commented, sounding a little more bitter than he had intended.

There was a moment of silence. Ryou frowned. "Perhaps we should go..."

"Yeah, maybe," Anzu said, glaring menacingly at everyone in general. "Um... See ya."

He nodded. "Yeah..." They left the mall rather quickly.

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Ryou sighed, looking at the game shop in front of him, and had second thoughts.

All through the past week all of his friends had been acting 'differently' around him, in various ways. Jou and Honda just tried to avoid him whenever possible. Yami and Yugi both kept asking if he was okay, seeming to fear either for his sanity or his physical health, now that he was spending more time with Bakura. Anzu tried to act normal, but it seemed a bit artificial. And plus there was also the fact that Bakura seemed down about the whole thing, though he'd never intentionally let it show.

This Saturday, he had finally decided he needed to talk to one of them. He had picked Yugi and Yami, because Anzu didn't seem practically bothered and there was no way he was talking to Jou and Honda unless they tried to talk to him first; he didn't think he'd be quite welcome.

Eventually he realized that passerbys were staring at him, and he hurriedly went in even though he wasn't quite sure he wanted to. The sign on the door said 'Closed,' but Yugi's grandpa had said before that they could come in anytime.

The house seemed empty. "Um, hello? It's Ryou Bakura; is anyone here?" he asked uncertainly, wishing he'd called first.

"Hello?" came Yugi's voice from somewhere upstairs. "Hey Bakura; come on up!"

"So, where's your grandpa?" Ryou asked, once he had gone upstairs to Yugi's room and had a seat on the foot of Yugi's bed.

"He's shopping," Yugi explained. "He won't be back for a while. Oh hey, I just remembered! Yami said that he wanted to talk to you in private sometime, so I'm going to let him take over, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, though a little doubtfully, wondering what in the world Yami could want. He hoped it wasn't more about how 'dangerous' his yami supposedly was...

A moment later Yugi's appearance seemed to change, and his voice was deeper when he said, "Hello, Bakura."

"Hello Yami," he said, frowning a little. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

He shrugged. "It can wait; I assume you also have something important you wish to talk about."

"Well..." He paused. "The thing is, I really do wish everyone would stop making such a big thing about me and Yami Bakura. He really is kind now; he's changed. I... Trust him now. I wish you could too. I think it hurts him that no one will, though he won't let it show."

Yami nodded, a look on his face that Ryou couldn't quite place. "I find that all a little hard to believe," he admitted, "but you know him better than me. I will try."

Ryou smiled. "Thanks," he said gratefully. "Oh, and I was wondering... I know I'm already asking a lot, but could you or Anzu try and talk to Jou and Honda? I miss having them as friends, but I don't think it would be wise to talk to them myself."

"Certainly," Yami agreed, uncomfortably aware of his lie.

"Thanks a lot," Ryou said earnestly, feeling a lot more at ease now that he had gotten that over with. "Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well..." Yami said hesitantly, and Ryou was surprised to see that he looked uncomfortable, unsure.

"Come on; out with it," he urged.

"Well..." Yami said again. And then he kissed him.

It was a very passionate kiss. Ryou's mouth opened in surprise, and Yami's tongue darted inside. Ryou almost choked. It actually felt good, he found himself thinking, but... He suddenly pushed him away, rather roughly. "What are you doing?!" he gasped.

Yami sighed a little. "The truth is," he admitted, "that the reason why I've been so unsupportive of you and Yami Bakura is... I love you."

"What?" Ryou demanded, disbelievingly. "But... I thought you and Anzu were going out! At least that's what you've both been saying around school!"

Yami nodded again. "True," he agreed. "We've been going out for a few weeks now. But... It's just not working out for me. She could never be anything more than a friend."

Ryou shook his head, too shocked to say anything. Yami took advantage of that moment to kiss him again. Ryou tried to resist, but Yami was forcing him back onto to bed, holding his wrists above his head. "Stop it!" Ryou managed to say; for a moment he was afraid Yami was going to try to rape him.

Yami kissed him one last time, then abruptly pulled away and sat up. "Sorry," he said quietly.

"Oh, I'll bet you are!" Ryou snapped, surprising them both. "Tell Yugi I said bye," he added, and left the house quickly.

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Bakura looked up from the refrigerator (A/N: again ), startled, as Ryou slammed the front door on his way in. He was even more startled to see that his hikari looked very shaken up, almost close to tears.

"What's the matter?" he demanded. "Did Yami and Yugi give you more crap about us?"

"You could say that," he sniffed, gladly sinking into Bakura's arms. He couldn't tell him... It would hurt him too much...

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'The problem with people,' Bakura thought irritably, on Sunday, 'is that once you've met them they sometimes just won't leave you alone...' Everyone else was gone, and when the doorbell rung he sensed one of Ryou's friends – or ex-friends. He couldn't tell which one it was and had already prepared a lovely sarcastic remark to make them go away when he opened the door to find the one Ryou had said was called Anzu. He bit back the remark; as he recalled she had been the least rude of the bunch, at least. Instead he settled for a curt, "What?"

"Um... Yami Bakura?" she said uncertainly. He noted that she looked rather upset, and it didn't seem to be just because of him. ...Well, that was a new one.

"Yes," he said simply. "Did you want something?"

"Uh... Could I talk to Bakura?" she asked timidly.

"Not now," he replied. "He and his father are off doing... father-son... things." He wasn't quite sure what father-son things were these days, but Anzu seemed to understand.

"Oh," she said, looking a little deflated. "Well... I guess I should, er, go now."

He shrugged. "If you wanted," he consented. "I suppose it's not something I can hear."

"Well... It's... not particularly like that or anything," she admitted, though she looked ready to run.

"Ah," he said, nodding. "I see. You're afraid that if you come in I'm going to kill you." He said it so matter-of-factly that she just stared. He smirked. "I'll try to resist the temptation..."

"Uh..." she managed to say, visibly paling.

He snorted. "It was a _joke_," he said wearily. "Come in now or go away."

She hesitated just a moment, then stepped hurriedly inside when Bakura started to close the door.

"So what was it?" he inquired, once they had gotten seated in the living room.

"Well..." She frowned, thinking exactly how to phrase this. "Where all did Ryou go this weekend; did he tell you?"

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know he went anywhere?" he demanded. "And for your information, he went to Yugi's for a bit."

"And... Did he mention anything about seeing Yami?" she asked carefully.

He scowled, starting to get annoyed. "Not directly, though I assume he might have," he snapped. "Why are you so interested?"

She took a deep breath, and he was surprised to see that she was looking upset again. "Well, Yami, he... He broke up with me yesterday," she said thickly.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "And Ryou would have anything to do with this, how...?" he asked, fully aware that he was being unsympathetic.

She frowned at him. "You really don't know anything about this, do you?" she commented. "Yami said he broke up with me... Because he was in love with Ryou. He said Ryou came over to his place, and they sort of..." She winced, not wanting to even say it. "They sort of made out."

"What?" he demanded, his voice low.

Anzu resisted the temptation to edge away; he was looking sort of pissed. "They... made out?" she repeated.

"I know what you said," he replied angrily. "But there's no way... Ryou would have told me if something like that had happened!"

"Uh, if you say so," she shrugged, deciding it would be best to be safe. Some people did think he was insane, after all.

He sighed, trying to control his temper. "I know you don't think so," he said frankly. "But... I just can't see him doing something like that. Was that everything?"

"I guess," she said, getting up and trying not to look over-eager. "Only, could you talk to Ryou? I know you don't think he'd want to be with Yami," she explained hurriedly, "but I'd like it if maybe... Ryou sort of, you know, discouraged Yami. I really do love him; I'd like to get him back."

He regarded her thoughtfully. "Sure; I'll talk to him," he agreed, and she left as quickly as was possible while remaining at least a little polite.

Bakura waited until after they had all had dinner before talking to Ryou. The two of them went up to Ryou's room, where Ryou sat down to do a last little bit of weekend homework he had been putting off and Bakura lay down in bed to read – or at least, Ryou thought he did.

"Hey Ryou?" Bakura said suddenly. "Anzu stopped by today; she was looking for you."

"And did she run screaming, or just run?" he asked, snickering, then he realized the Bakura wasn't amused. "What?" he asked, immediately more serious.

"And she told me... Now Ryou," he interrupted himself, "I'll tell you right now I don't believe a word of it, but she wanted me to talk to you anyway. She said that Yami said when you went to his place yesterday you two... made out." He watched his hikari, his eyes asking his to tell him it wasn't true, and trusting him to do so.

Ryou went pale. "She... she..." he stuttered.

"Ryou, what's the matter?" Bakura demanded. 'No; I absolutely refuse to believe this...'

"I... I..." He looked down at his hands. "It's true," he admitted. "Well, sort of. It was actually more like a couple kisses, but... I'm sorry." It seemed like such a small thing to say; far too small.

Bakura didn't say anything for a moment. When he finally spoke, it was just to say, "I see."

They were both silent for a bit, neither looking at the other. "Bakura?" Ryou asked suddenly, timidly.

"What?" he snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Ryou was taken aback. He hadn't seen him look like that since... He mentally shuddered. A long time ago. "I love you," he said quietly.

"Oh, like hell you do," he said sarcastically. He got up, practically getting right in Ryou's face. "You think I believe that now?"

"Bakura!" he exclaimed, shocked. "Please don't say you think I... want to be with Yami!"

"Oh; yeah; right," he said bitterly. "Tell me this then. Why the hell didn't you tell me about it when it happened instead of waiting till your 'affair' came out?"

"It's not an affair!" Ryou retorted. "And I... well... I thought you'd be..."

"Are you _sure_ you thought?" he asked furiously. "Maybe you should re-check that!"

"Bakura!" Ryou said again, frowning. "Just calm down, would you? If you'd only listen..."

"Don't tell me what to do, damn it!" Bakura cut him off. He stood by the window, gripping the edge of the sill until his knuckles went white.

Ryou sighed, rubbing his head and contemplating just going away for a bit and letting him cool off. "I swear," he whispered, "that it meant nothing. It only happened at all because he forced me."

"Like I care," he replied resentfully. "I would – if I believed it. If you had told me earlier, sure."

Ryou went over to him, placing a cautious hand on his shoulder. "I said sorry; what more can I do?" he asked sadly.

Bakura wasn't quite sure what it was. His nearness, the touch... But whatever it was, combined with his increasing anger and feeling of betrayal, it caused him to loose sight of himself for a moment. Well, not himself, exactly; more what he had become over the passed few months that he had been in love with Ryou. He whirled around, striking Ryou across the face.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Ryou took a horrified step back, staring at his yami in disbelief. He suspected there would be a large bruise on his cheek later, but the pain was the least of the things bothering him. He thought that he saw Bakura's own eyes widen in shock but he wasn't sure, because without another word he turned and ran, down the stairs and outside, going who-knows-where.

Bakura numbly heard the door slam, but he barely noticed it. He wasn't quite sure how long he spent, standing there and staring at nothing.

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**A/N**: Poor, poor ickle Ryou... Things just keep getting worse and worse for him, don't they? (observes people carrying pitchforks and torches) Er, don't kill me? But, seriously, a note about my funky disclaimers. I'm sure absolutely no one wants to know, but I'm gonna tell you anyway, cus I'm bored. The honest truth is that I don't even know what they say anymore. They're remnants of the Latin course I took in my first year of high school... (nostalgic sigh) Would you believe, that was the only course I've ever dropped out of? I have discovered the hard way that foreign language classes just aren't for me; not unless I could take Japanese or something interesting like that... R&R????


	5. Hanarenai

**Disclaimer**: Yu-gi-oh non mea, viditis? Non mea! Minime capitis pecunia mea! (grin)

**A/N**: Y'know, I'll bet all the people who like this story are getting really tired of me dissing it... But it stinks! (sob) I mean, I guess it's got its moments... (sniffle) And I made Yami a total creep, didn't I? Well, I suppose that was the one vaguely original thing about this lil ficcy, after all... Okay, time for a completely random moment! Why are there no Ocean's Eleven fanfics? I just saw Ocean's Twelve yesterday - ubercoolness - and then I went to look for fanfics, and between all the sites I go to, I found one! (tear) Doesn't anyone realize how hot some of those characters are? I mean, it's got Brad Pitt in it!! Okay, I feel better now...

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**Chapter Five**: Hanarenai

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Ryou had absolutely no idea where he was going. He was almost surprise when he saw where he had wound up, and for a moment he wasn't sure if he wanted to go in. He wasn't sure if he could handle any more emotion tonight... But in the end he firmly decided that he wouldn't let anything happen; not much harm could come from talking, and he defiantly wanted to talk to someone right now. So he walked inside the game shop.

Yugi looked up, startled, when he heard a knock at his door. He was just about to go to bed, and he thought his grandpa already had... "Yeah Grandpa?" he asked.

Ryou almost smiled – almost. "It's not your grandpa, Yugi; it's Bakura," he replied.

Yugi's eyes widened, and he hurried to open the door. "Bakura?" he said, disbelievingly. "Hi... What are you doing here; it's really late!" He frowned, taking a closer look at his face. He looked like he had been crying. "And what's the matter?"

He sighed. "I'll... tell you about it later," he said simply, not sure if he actually would or not. "Listen, I need to talk to Yami for a bit, alone."

Yugi shrugged. "Okay," he replied, letting Yami take control.

The instant Yami saw Ryou, he frowned. "Bakura, what's the matter?" he demanded.

Ryou sat down on the edge of the bed, looking like he might just start crying again but firmly holding it back. "You know, I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this," he said, managing something like a laugh. "I mean, it's all your fault..." The other boy said nothing, and after a moment Ryou continued. "He... Bakura, he found out about yesterday; Anzu told him. We got into a fight, and he... Did you ever know he used to be abusive?" He shuddered, just saying it.

Yami's eyes widened. "I... suspected he might have been," he said carefully.

"Well... He hit me again," Ryou admitted. "Ever since we've been together he hasn't; not once. And I'm not sure he really meant to either. But... I just don't know what to think right now."

Yami sat down next to him, and he tensed slightly. Yami didn't, however, make any move to touch him and Ryou relaxed. Instead Yami just sighed, looking guilty. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have..."

Ryou smiled thinly. "No, you really shouldn't have," he shrugged. "But... Bakura really over-reacted."

"Are you going to stay with him?" Yami asked suddenly, after a minute.

Ryou frowned; he hadn't actually considered that yet. He loved him, but... He had sworn not to hurt Ryou, and Ryou had come to trust him. Tonight really brought back how frightened he used to be around his yami; he knew that the habit of abusiveness was hard to cure in most people, but until now he believed that Bakura somehow had been. Now he wasn't sure; he wasn't sure if he could trust him again either. "I... don't know," he finally said.

Yami opened his mouth as if to say something, hesitated, then suddenly leaned over and kissed him again. It was much more gentle than the other two times, and Ryou could have pulled away any time he wanted. For a moment he was too startled to though, and he kissed him back. He really was a good kisser... Then he shoved him away, trying to keep in mind that it was this sort of thing that started it all.

"You... We... We can't do this sort of thing!" he said stiffly. Yami looked a little hurt when Ryou got up and went to the other side of the bed, though he was trying not to let it show. "It's just wrong," Ryou continued, his back turned. "I mean, I'm not officially broken up with Bakura or anything, and you're still together with Anzu! Think of her for a minute, why don't you?"

"But I'm not still together with Anzu," Yami said quietly. "We broke up."

"What?" Ryou demanded, startled. "Why?"

Yami shrugged. "I just... Couldn't stay with her. I love you, Ryou."

Ryou winced, not even noticing that he had called him by his first name. Just what he needed; guilt to go with his depression and confusion. "I'm sorry," he said heavily. "I mean, I like you, but... I'm still in love with Bakura..." He paused. Was he really sure about that...? He felt so... torn. "I guess," he finally added, very quietly.

"You guess, huh?" Yami repeated, raising an eyebrow slightly. He didn't want to push him too much and scare him away again, especially now that he actually had a slight chance, but...

Ryou couldn't help but grin a bit, even though he was still feeling down. "You're not going to give up, are you?" he asked pointedly.

"No," Yami replied, and Ryou almost jumped; he had moved across the bed and was now sitting just behind him.

Ryou frowned. He had half the mind to get up, shout his head off, and stalk out. But the problem was, he didn't know where he'd go after that. He didn't want to go home, and he couldn't stay at Anzu's place; it would just be too embarrassing. And Jou and Honda certainly wouldn't be interested in hearing his _boy_friend problems...

Suddenly he gasped, as an arm snaked down his front and Yami started kissing his neck. "Y-yami!" he protested, making a half-hearted effort to move away.

"Hmm?" Yami replied, not giving any sign of letting him go.

Ryou sighed, suddenly realizing that he was extremely tired. "Nothing," he muttered, letting Yami pull him closer. He knew that if he had actually made an effort he could have got up and gone to another room, but chances were Yami would just come and bother him later. He was just too persistent. And it was comfortable...

'And besides,' he added to himself, 'this way I don't have to worry about Bakura for a while...'

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When he woke up the next morning, Ryou was feeling exceptionally groggy. He felt like he hadn't gotten enough sleep, or too much, or something... He glanced at the clock and groaned; it was ten thirty in the morning. Then he frowned; that wasn't his clock...

The events of the night before came back to him quiet swiftly. He suppressed another groan. It just seemed unreal somehow. And why had he gone and given in to Yami? He should have gone to Anzu's; she might be a little uncomfortable around him these days but that didn't mean she probably wouldn't have let him sleep on the couch or something. He felt like such a traitor...

He wished he hadn't woken up at all, but now he couldn't get back to sleep. It was something to do with being surrounded by reminders of what an idiot he'd been: Yami, who was sleeping peacefully next to him; the Sennen ring, which he was still wearing... Finally Ryou sighed and got up carefully, then spent a minute or so looking for his shirt; it was under the bed. He wasn't quiet sure of what all had happened last night but he still had his pants on so it couldn't have been too bad...

He managed to sneak out of the game shop without either waking Yami or running into Yugi's grandpa, but after that he hesitated. Part of him wanted to rush back home, tell Bakura everything and hope that things just somehow got back to normal. But he doubted that anything like that would happen, and he realized with a sickening feeling that he was afraid of his yami again.

But the only way he was going to fix any of this, he decided after he had been standing outside the game shop long enough to have people staring at him (again), was to try and talk to Bakura. He started off to his house, staring at his feet.

When he went in the house was quiet. He found Bakura up in his and Ryou's room, sitting on the bed and looking out the window. He didn't look up when Ryou came in.

The silence hung uncomfortably in the air for a few moments, then Ryou asked, "Where's my dad, do you know?"

Bakura shrugged. "No," he said. His voice was completely neutral.

Ryou winced. This wasn't going to be easy. "I hope he's not looking for me," he commented.

"No, he's not," Bakura said, still not looking at him. "I told him you'd gone to a friend's, and that you wanted to spend the night. This morning I told him that you called before he woke up and said you were sick and were going stay the day. He called the school; you have the day off. Go away."

Ryou blinked, startled by the sudden change of subject. "It's technically my room, you know," he remarked, then hurriedly added, "Just teasing."

"I'm not amused," Bakura said coldly, getting off the bed anyway. "Fine; if you won't go away then _I'll_ go away."

He moved towards the door but Ryou grabbed his arm. He was a little frightened to touch him after last night, but he wasn't planning to let his yami get out of talking that easily. "Oh no you're not," he said firmly.

Bakura felt surprised that his hikari would be that bold as he yanked his arm away. He had see how scared Ryou had looked just before he ran away, and he had wondered if they would ever talk again. He had wanted to, but now that Ryou was here he was mad all over again. "Why not?" he snapped. "I suppose it probably doesn't have anything to do with your date with Yami last night, but if does then don't bother. I know."

Ryou's eyes widened. "You... what?" he demanded. "How?"

"The Sennen ring," he said simply. "I thought I'd check to see where you were, to know whether I would need to lie to your dad. So tell me, is Yami a toy too or do you actually care about him? That would be a shock."

He hadn't meant to be quiet that cruel; it had just come out. Ryou frowned, then turned away. "You can go away now, like you wanted," he said evenly.

Bakura hesitated for a moment, then stepped out and closed the door behind him. He almost went downstairs, but he heard an odd noise from inside the bedroom. He had a sickening idea of what it might be and couldn't help but go back.

He felt divided, standing right outside the door and listening to Ryou crying. The large majority of him wanted to laugh, yell at his hikari to shut up, and eat something, even though his hand was poised to knock. Things were a lot simpler when he acted like that, it seemed. Because the other side of him was telling him to talk to Ryou, even though he didn't want to.

Somehow, that second side won. He opened the door quietly, but Ryou noticed him and quickly tried to wipe away his tears. "What?" Ryou asked, after he was fairly sure he could control his voice. Actually, he couldn't.

Bakura sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, facing Ryou who was sitting at the top of the bed. "I think," he said carefully, "that you ought to explain to me exactly what is going on between you and Yami. If you two are together, then I can't understand why you're so upset."

Ryou stared at him for a moment. That was about as close as Bakura got to admitting that he at least might be wrong. Then he hurriedly started speaking, in case he lost his chance. "It's nothing," he said earnestly. "The first time I went over there I wanted to talk, and he kissed me. I just went there last night because there wasn't really any other place to go. Anzu's kind of uncomfortable around me I think, and Jou and Honda, well..." He paused. "Anyway, he just wouldn't leave me alone. I guess I... just sort of gave in. Nothing happened, though."

Bakura frowned thoughtfully. He really did want to believe him, but he still wasn't sure...

"Hey," Ryou said suddenly, "how long were you watching us last night? Because I'll bet you never once heard me tell him that I loved him."

Bakura's frown deepened. It was true, he had to admit...

Then his eyes widened. He hadn't even seen him move, but suddenly Ryou was kissing him.

When they pulled apart Bakura gasped for air. Ryou couldn't help but smirk a little; _he_ had taken a breath first... "But I will say I love you all you want, whether you believe it or not," he said quietly.

Bakura panted a little longer than he needed to, to cover up his emotions. He wanted to laugh, or cry, or something... But he had decided to believe him. Not that it mattered, because even if he did still believe that Ryou was in love with someone else he would still love him. "I'm sorry... about last night," he finally said. "I just, I didn't mean... I mean, I didn't want... I'm so sorry..."

Ryou smiled, hugging him. "It's okay, he whispered. "I... don't know. I guess I just don't care. Anyway, I should have told you sooner about Yami; I'm the one who should be sorry. I love you."

Bakura was silent, and Ryou was just beginning to wonder whether his yami was going to say anything, when he was abruptly pushed onto the bed. When he saw Bakura's face, he was grinning mischievously. "Well," he said, absentmindedly playing with Ryou's hair, "it's not as if I don't believe you or something. But why don't you prove it?" He bent down, kissing him deeply.

XoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

**A/N**: Aww! I'm so nice! Well actually, I guess I'm kind of evil too since it took me so long to get this chapter posted... But balance is important, right? (grin) Actually, I'm _really_ evil, because... that's it! (dodges, not just flying fruit, but buckets of flying fruit) Yes, it's true, it's _done_! (faint) So sad... I'm not going to know what to do with my self now... Shitthatsoundedwrong... Okay, I'm gonna shut up now before I either make an even bigger idiot of myself, or someone out there realizes that, hey, they can throw the buckets too... R&R! Oh, and 'hanarenai' means 'I can't leave you.' Okay, _now_ I'm gonna shut up...


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